


Difficult Choices

by collasoll



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29561085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collasoll/pseuds/collasoll
Summary: Set in an AU around 4x17-4x18 focused on the difficult choices Archie is making. On a whim Archie decides to go to the Army and leave his past behind without a word to anyone else. Will his past catch up to him?This is my first time using this site so I am sorry if there are any formatting errors or any other kind of errors.Also if it was not implied from the tag, this will be a Barchie story.
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

“Stop. Stop!” Betty exclaimed while Archie was singing “Carry A Torch” to her. Betty stood up and turned around as she wrapped her arms around herself. This was wrong in so many ways and she could not deal with this right now, especially with him.

Archie stopped playing, set his guitar back in the case, stood up and grabbed her shoulder. “Betty what’s wrong? Was the song that bad?” Betty turned back to Archie and tears stained her eyes. Archie reached out to wipe them off, but Betty slapped his hand away.

“Don’t do that!” Betty pleaded as put her hands on her head and started to pace around the bunker.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean what’s wrong? Everything we are doing here is wrong! You love Veronica and I love Jughead.”

Archie pulled Betty’s hand from her head and intertwined his fingers with hers, “Yes I love her, but I have always lo-.”

Before Archie can finish Betty untangles her hands from his and pushes his chest as hard as she can. He stumbles backwards until he lands in a seated position in the bed. “Don’t say that when you don’t even mean it! I have something real and good going with Jughead, why are you trying to ruin it over something so meaningless?”

Archie’s face contorted from confusion, “What do you mean meaningless? I’m being serious here I love you Betty.”

Tears streamed down Betty’s face faster than before, “Why would you say that? I love you too, but you do not mean it in the same way that I do! If you really loved me then what happened that night of my confession? You turned me down and gave a cop out answer about it. Even at the party you did something with Veronica while you were with Mrs. Grundy. I have never been your first choice or even your second so why should I believe a word you said when all you do is break my heart?” With that Betty stormed out of the bunker, Archie was too stunned to chase after her.

Archie never cried, but he did that night as the heart ache was almost too much to bear. He laid down on the cot and wallowed in self-pity until he fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he knew what he had to do, his first stop was Veronica’s hotel.

“Archiekins! To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” Veronica said as she wrapped her arms around Archie. She leaned in for a kiss as well, but Archie pulled back before her lips could reach his. “What’s wrong, you never pull away from a kiss?”

“Can we go for a walk to talk about a few things?” Archie stated. Veronica looked in his eyes and could tell how serious he was, so she obliged.

“Archie, we have been walking in silence for almost twenty minutes now. You brought me out her to say something did you not?”

Archie cleared his throat; he had been trying to think of the right words to say to make this easier but there were no right words at least not that he could come up with right now. “Yeah, sorry about that I have been trying to find the right words to say. I will just come out and say it, I want to break up.”

Veronica stopped dead in her tracks, “Why? Is this because of our fight last week? I thought we had moved that when I apologized.”

Archie turned around so he could face her, “That’s just one reason Ronnie. You will be living in New York in a few months and I am going to apply for the Naval Academy. Long-distance relationships never work, and I do not want to hold you back.”

“Please think this through Archie, you are making a very rash decision right now. I know that most long-distance relationships fail, but we have something special. It does not matter if we can only talk occasionally due to our busy schedules, it will be a lot of work, but I know we can do it as long as you are willing to try.”

“That’s the thing Ronnie I’m not willing to try. The Naval Academy is going to be rigorous enough as it is, a complicated relationship is the opposite of what I need. I am sorry, but the two of us are over.”

Archie walked away just like that. He expected Veronica to grab him from behind and beg him to stay but instead she fell to her knees and cried. He could not take hearing her cry so he ran as fast as he could back to his house.

When Archie finally reached his house, he had to bend over and catch his breath. As he reached for the doorknob the door opened on its own, hitting Archie in the head. “Ow!” He winced in pain as he felt blood trickle down his forehead where the door had hit him.

His mom looked down and saw him grasping his head, “I’m sorry honey I did not see you there. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine mom. I do have a question though, can you let your girlfriend know that I want to attend the Naval Academy after all?”

“Oh honey, I told you about the deadline. It is too late to apply now, come inside though I will patch you up.” Ten minutes later the bleeding had stopped, and Archie had a bandage on his forehead covering the cut. Mary asked about what happened, so he told her everything. Before she could give him her opinion however, Mr. Weatherbee called and told Archie to come to school immediately.

Archie took a quick shower, because his clothes had been drenched in sweat from the run, before he drove to school. Things kept going downhill from there as Mr. Weatherbee told Archie that he was not going to be able to graduate with his friends. Archie asked him what his options were, and he said there were a few options on the table. Either Archie could repeat his senior year, drop out, or go to the Army and get his GED there.

Weatherbee told him he had a day to get back to him before dismissing Archie. Archie sat in silence the whole ride home and once he was home, he locked his door behind him. He looked out his bedroom window and saw Betty sitting at her vanity table, but before he could get her attention, he saw Jughead come into the room. Jughead kissed her shoulder, neck, lips… before things could go any farther Archie closed his blinds.

Archie laid down on his bed. Which option should he choose? Retaking his senior year sounded the least appealing of the three options so that was out. Would it be better to drop out and look for something here in Riverdale or should he go to the Army? At least in the Army he would have a secure job and he could get his GED best of all he could distance himself from everyone in this town. His actions in the past week had pretty much burned all the bridges he had. Betty basically told him to stay away, he broke up with Ronnie, and Jughead would never forgive him if he found out about the cheating.

Archie picked up his phone and called Weatherbee and gave him his answer. To his surprise however Weatherbee told him he could leave as early as Monday if wanted to. Archie thought it over for a few seconds and decided that two days would be enough for him to say goodbye, so he said yes and hung up. Two days. He had two days to close this chapter of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

Archie walked around his room wondering what to pack. He grabbed his rarely used suitcase from the closet, covered in dust. He wiped off the dust as best he could with his hands before opening the suitcase and setting it down on his bed. Clothes were the easiest to pack, Archie grabbed a few pairs of comfortable clothes from his closet and threw them in the suitcase. Archie pictured his mom telling him to pack for the cold, so he made sure to grab a coat, scarf, and gloves. Within an hour he was all packed and seemingly ready to go, so he went to bed.

Archie winced from the sunlight when he woke up, so he rolled over and went back to sleep. His mom’s voice woke him up the second time, Archie looked at his phone and saw that it was already one in the afternoon. Archie turned towards his mom, “Mom, I have something very important to tell you.”

To his surprise his mom took the news very well, probably because he had planned on going to the Naval Academy before, and wished him luck. By the time they were done talking it was closing in on two-thirty meaning that Archie had about twenty-four hours left until he had to leave for the bus at three tomorrow.

The next thing Archie did was call Jughead, he wanted to cherish one more day of their friendship before he left town. “Hey Jug, do you mind having a guy’s night tonight?”

“Uh, I don’t know man. Betty and I were planning on doing a movie marathon tonight, what about tomorrow?” Jughead responded.

“No, I’ll be busy tomorrow it has to be tonight. Come on, it feels like we never hang out one on one anymore.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a short while before Jughead let out a sigh, “Alright man your place in ten minutes?”

“Sounds good, see you then.” Archie had set up his console in the living room and brought two controllers down from his room, he also had grabbed some snacks from his kitchen and set them down on the living room table. Video games and food, two of their favorite things to do while hanging out. Archie’s mom had even agreed to stay out of the house for the night so that it would be just the two of them.

Ten minutes passed and right on time, Jughead knocked on the door. “Come in, it’s unlocked!” Archie called from the living room. He had opened two beers and set them on the table next to the snacks.

As Jughead walked into the room Archie pulled him in for a bear hug. Jughead raised his eyebrow but decided to not question the hug and instead hugged Archie back. Jug looked around the living room and got an idea of what was going on, “So do you think you will finally be able to beat me in Mortal Kombat.”

Archie nudged Jughead with his shoulder, “The way you cheat, not a chance. If we fought in real life though…. well, we both know how that would turn out.”

Jughead cracked a smile before nudging Archie back “Touché.” With that the pair sat on the couch and picked their characters. “I’ll give you a hint man, picking the biggest guys does not give you the advantage you think it does. Sometimes it’s better to think about who the wisest choice is.”

“Oh, put up or shut up, that little girl character has nothing on my guy.” Archie let out a laugh as his character was being pummeled, this really was like old times. Except this time would be the last time they would be able to do this for years. As if on cue, Jughead’s small female character destroyed his character. Archie set down his controller and walked to the fridge to grab some more beer.

The night went on and Archie drank far more than he should have. They were a few hours into playing and Archie had yet to beat Jughead. “Hey, why don’t we take a break for now?” Jughead asked. Jughead could tell that Archie was drinking at a faster pace than he should be drinking and hoped a break would calm him down.

“Sure thing, I was starting to get a little frustrated anyway.”

“Yeah, I could tell. So, what do you have going on tomorrow then?”

Archie turned towards Jughead with a look of confusion as he tried to pull his thoughts together. “Right, tomorrow I’m leaving on a bus…” Archie stopped himself before saying anything more, the alcohol was catching up on him and he almost told Jughead everything.

This time Jughead was the one who gave him a confused look. Leaving on a bus, for what? Are you going to visit somewhere?”

Archie massaged his forehead for a few moments before responding. Yeah, my mom and I are going to take a look at the Naval Academy early. Don’t worry though I’ll only be gone for a few days. My mom has been so worried about the Academy and hopefully this will give her some piece of mind.”

Jughead seemed to buy it as he nodded his head. “Ah, yeah good luck with that. Stay safe and all that. Want to play a different game?”

Archie gave a fake smile and said, “Sounds good, but you better not cheat this time.”

The rest of the night went by in a blur and before he knew it Jughead was saying goodbye and leaving out the front door. Archie was too tired to walk upstairs to his own bed, so he laid down on the couch and fell asleep instantly.

He woke up the next morning with a killer headache, so he popped some Ibuprofen. Archie put on a pair of sunglasses and headed to Pops for brunch, since it was eleven am, he only had a few more hours before leaving.

He walked into the diner and was surprised to see the Cooper-Jones clan together. Before Archie could do anything, he heard FP calling for him to come over by them. Archie let out a deep breath before coming over to the table and sitting next to Betty. Archie would have rather sat by anyone else, but Alice and FP had everyone’s jackets sitting between them so there was no room anywhere else.

Archie sat down and kept his head titled down. “You look rough boy, long night?” FP asked.

Before Archie could say anything Jughead chimed in, “Oh yeah I forgot to mention that he was drinking like there was no tomorrow. I knew there was something on his mind, but I had no idea what it was until Archie said he was leaving for the Naval Academy today.” Both FP and Alice looked at him in surprise.

Betty, who had been looking away from Archie since he sat down, turned towards him and exclaimed, “What? You are leaving today?” Archie could see the hurt in her eyes, but he chose to stay silent.

Jughead seemed to realize that he left out a key part of information, “Oh wait, my bad. He is just checking out the place for a few days with his mom ahead of time since she is worried about him.”

This time Betty turned to Jughead and pushed him softly. “What the hell? Were you trying to scare me?”

Jughead put up his hands in self-defense, “My bad, it was my mistake.”

Betty turned back to Archie, “And you. You wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, would you?” Her eyes pleaded with him. Archie nodded in response because he could not bring himself to lie to her.

“Well on that note, how about we move on to something lighthearted?” Alice asked. Another hour passed before Archie excused himself from the group and headed home, it was twelve-thirty now.

Archie went straight home and wrote a goodbye letter to Betty. He knew it was wrong, but there was no way he would be able to bring himself to say goodbye to her in person. When he was finished with the note two more hours had passed, he was down to half an hour left until he was supposed to say goodbye.

Archie made his way downstairs and found his mother in the kitchen and gave her a hug. “Oh Archie, I am going to miss you so much. Please take care of yourself, I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt or worse.” He could feel her tears falling down his neck and onto his shirt.

Archie teared up a little as well, “Everything is going to be fine mom, I have been through far worse things than this.” Archie pulled back from the hug and handed his mom the letter he wrote to Betty. “Can you give this to Betty the next time you see her?”

“Archie, you need to say goodbye in person. You know that it would be wrong to leave like this.”

“I can’t mom, it hurts too much already. Just promise me you will give it to her.”

Archie’s mom let out a sigh, “Fine, but only because she deserves at least a note.” Archie thanked his mom and headed out the door and made his way to the bus stop. It was time for a new chapter of his life.

Mary Andrews was in the kitchen when she heard a knock at the door. She figured it was Archie and he had forgotten something, so she opened the door only to find Betty. “Mary, you are still here, good. Where is Archie? I wanted to say a few things to him before the trip. Wait, why are you crying.”

Mary handed Betty the letter, “Read this and it will all become clear.”

Betty took a seat at the kitchen table with Mary and opened the letter. A few minutes later she gasped, “No!” Betty got up and ran out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys thanks for reading, I hope you like the chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

On her way to the bus stop Betty kept flashing back to moments between her and Archie. The moment he proposed, her confession, their kiss during the black hood, and all of the other moments between them were circling in her head. If only she had not stopped herself, she pushed Archie away in fear, and had believed Archie’s confession. Was it too late now? Had she missed her only chance? Betty pushed the thoughts out of her head, she was determined that it would not be too late.

When Betty finally arrived at the bus stop, she smiled and tears welled up in her eyes. There he was, Archie Andrews – her best friend, sitting on the bench with his head in his hands.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he fell across the bench as Betty crashed into him with a hug. He looked up and saw that Betty was sitting on top of him but before he could react Betty leaned down and pushed her lips against his. The first thought that crossed his mind was warm, it was almost unnerving how warm Betty’s lips were on an already warm day.

He knew he should stop her but he did not have the heart to stop her, at least not yet anyway. Archie closed his eyes and began to kiss her back, to his surprise water trickled down his face. Was it raining? No, the forecast was clear for the day he had made sure to check before he left. Archie opened his eyes, ah it was tears, He was not sure whose tears it was his or Betty’s, as they were both crying, but he could care less.

After what he knew was far too long, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her off of him. Archie sat up so that he was sitting facing Betty. “I am so sorry Arch!” Betty choked out. “I should have believed you.”

Archie brought his hand to her face and pushed her hair behind her right ear. “It’s fine Betty, if anything it is for the best.” Deep down they both knew it, no matter how much they wanted to deny it was true. It was wrong for them to have done anything while they were in relationships and Betty had just cheated on Jughead again and as far as she knew he was still cheating on Veronica.

Betty wrapped her hands around mine; Archie fought the urge to pull away. “I know it started out wrong, but it does not have to stay this way. We can do it the right way,” Betty reasoned. While Archie had had the same thought before it was wrong and anyways it was too late now.

“If you read the letter, which I am guessing you did since you are here, it is too late. The bus should be here any minute.” Right on queue the bus pulled up to the bus stop. This time Archie pulled his hands away from her and stood up. “Jug is a good guy, don’t ruin a good thing.”

He turned towards the bus, but before he could climb the first step Betty yelled, “Wait!” She stood up and wrapped Archie in a hug from behind. “Are you really going to leave things like this?”

Archie put on a cold expression before turning around, “Yes, there is nothing here for me anymore. Goodbye Betty.” This time Archie made it all the way up the steps and in the bus. He found an open seat on the right side of the bus. As he looked out the window, he saw Betty had fallen to her knees and was full on sobbing now. The pain was too much, so he looked at his phone and put in his earbuds. Archie pressed shuffle on his favorite playlist, then he turned his phone on silent and put it back in his pocket. The hard part was over, he had said his goodbyes, now all that was left was learning the ropes in the Army.

Betty finally stood up after an hour, her knees were sore so she stumbled at first. Why? Why was the world so cruel? Betty had been so close to having something she had wanted for as long as she could remember, but not close enough. If she had just been able to keep her feelings in check during Hedwig none of this would have happened, she would have continued to be best friends with Archie and that would have been good enough. At least when they were friends, she could stay near him, but now he was going far away and she might not be near him ever again. And what about Jughead, how was she supposed to go back to being with him now after everything she had done behind his back? He would never forgive her; it was his biggest insecurity and even though she had assured him it was baseless she had cheated on him anyway.

It would be too painful for Betty to head home now, there was only one person who she could ask for help in this situation without needing to explain. When Betty arrived at Cheryl’s house the door was already wide open and Cheryl stood in the doorway. “Well now cousin, someone looks like a train wreck today.” Betty’s knees were still bleeding from her kneeling on the asphalt rode and her makeup was ruined from crying.

“Thanks Cheryl, that is exactly what I needed right now” Betty said sarcastically as she walked inside the house. Maybe she had been too hasty thinking that she could come to Cheryl.

“Oh dear, I was only joking, sort of. I am going to grab the first aid kit, try not to bleed on my carpet any more than you already have okay? Red might be my favorite color, but that does not mean I want you staining the carpet.”

Betty let out an exasperated sigh as she walked outside of the house and sat down on the highest step. Betty was tempted to leave but, she was in pain and in reality, she had nowhere else to go. No matter how annoying Cheryl was, she was still her best option. Cheryl took her sweet time, but eventually she came back with the first aid kit.

Cheryl sat down next to Betty and got to work on patching her up. “Mind telling me what happened? It wouldn’t happen to be boy troubles would it?”

Betty raised her eyebrow, “How did you know?”

“Oh silly, it was simple really, I told you after the ‘staged kiss’ didn’t I? There was definitely something else going on.”

Betty let out a long sigh. “Archie and I kissed again while rehearsing alone during Hedwig and we did a few other things as well.”

Cheryl’s interested seemed to peek, “Hmm. What sort of other things might I ask?” Cheryl teased. Of course she had taken that the wrong way, it was Cheryl after all.

“It’s not what you are thinking, get your mind out of the gutter. It was simple things like meeting up at the bunker, holding hands, and Archie wrote a song for me.”

Cheryl’s expression darkened, “Here I was thinking you were having a physical affair, but it was an emotional one as well? Poor hobo or sorry Jughead. I didn’t think you had it in you, that’s something even I would be hesitant to do.” Betty felt guilty enough about what happened, being ridiculed from Cheryl only made her feel worse. “Well what are you planning on doing then?”

Betty decided to tell Cheryl the whole story, while she might not agree with Cheryl most of the time, Betty knew that she would not tell anyone else about what happened.

Cheryl raised a hand to her chin, she looked deep in thought. “Huh. I don’t see the problem. Archie cut you off, so now you can go back to Jughead without worrying about anything else.” Betty glared at Cheryl; it had been a mistake coming after all. Cheryl picked up on Betty’s hostility, “What am I wrong? Is that not exactly what you were planning on doing before Archie left? Don’t act all high and mighty know, from what you told me you were not planning on telling Jughead about what happened anyway.”

Betty clenched her fists, but refrained from saying anything. Cheryl was spot on, even if she was being blunt about it. Betty had been pretty terrible lately, but there was something Cheryl was wrong about, she had no intention of staying with Jughead anymore. It would be far too cruel for her to stay with him after everything that happened, even if that would be the easiest option. “I can still stay here for the time being, right?”

Cheryl smiled, “Sure thing cousin, follow me and choose a bedroom” Cheryl got up and dragged Betty behind her as she maneuvered through the mansion. Betty would just have to stay here until it was time for her to go to Yale.


End file.
